"People want to see the stars," said John Stokes, director of natural areas in Fort Collins, where a new Nature in the City strategy aims to ensure darkness.

"They remember their childhoods, when they lived in communities that had dark night skies and seeing the stars, perhaps planets. They miss that, want that and, to the extent they have that, want to keep it," Stokes said.

Durango has enacted a light-control ordinance to improve night views and "sleeping conditions," which requires turning off or dimming new commercial lights after 11 p.m.

Lights fill the sky just south of Golden, CO as seen from Lookout Mountain. Eric Lutzens , The Denver Post (Eric Lutzens, The Denver Post)

This year, Westcliffe became the first municipality in Colorado, and 11th worldwide, to achieve an official designation as a dark sky town. The townsfolk celebrated this month by installing a public telescope west of the bowling alley on Main Street.

Colorado efforts to temper light pollution are gaining momentum, said John Barentine, manager of the International Dark Sky Association, which certifies dark sky places. Recent efforts stand out because they involve cities where residents traditionally have resigned themselves to losing the night, Barentine said.

"The experience of being under an unpolluted, dark night sky draws us closer to something primeval and reminds us of the long history of humanity before electric lighting, when the whole world shared a brilliant, starry night sky," he said.

"We hope that when people from, say, Denver visit a dark sky park like Black Canyon of the Gunnison, they'll see examples of good outdoor lighting, feel safe and secure in that space and take the thoughts home with them. It's an indicator of success if they return home thinking, 'Why can't we have this where I live?' "

In Westcliffe, bringing back night was initially a way to lure astronomers, stargazers and other visitors to the Wet Mountain Valley. "But that's just part of it," said Gail Perkins, deputy town clerk.

"You look up. It's amazing. 'Did I just see that?' It's awesome. It feels as if the sky goes on forever. You can see far into it. It is beautiful."

Commercial advertisers and public safety groups have opposed light control. Police contend that robust lighting deters crime. However, ecologists have found nighttime artificial light disorients turtles, birds and bugs. The World Health Organization and American Medical Association warn that light pollution can lead to human health problems.

Fort Collins planners said council members increasingly hear from residents who want to be able to see stars. City officials embraced dark skies as one of the natural resources they manage, including in the new initiative to "integrate" nature into urban living, environment planner Justin Scharton said.

The city is applying for a formal dark sky designation based on dark skies protected in city open space along northern Front Range foothills — the Soapstone Natural Area, adjacent to the Larimer County-managed Red Mountain area. Residents flock there at night.

Durango leaders are grappling with how diplomatically to enforce their light rules, saying they face steady complaints from residents about glare.

In Denver, city codes say new lights must be directed downward, and neighborhoods such as Stapleton have encouraged residents to minimize light pollution. However, nothing has been done about existing light systems.

The metro area's night skies are more or less "ruined," casualties of development, said Robert Stencel, a University of Denver astronomer.

"There's an interest again" in seeing stars and the planets, Stencel said. "It'll happen. We're generating electricity in an unsustainable way. It is the will of the people."

Bruce Finley: 303-954-1700, bfinley@denverpost.com or @finleybruce

The city of Fort Collins is pushing to join Westcliffe and Silver Cliff as a Dark Sky Place, which means the city is preserving the night sky by cutting light pollution, educating the population about light pollution and helping them switch their light usage. (Brent Lewis, The Denver Post)

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